In a technique named Licensed Assistant Access (LAA) specified by a standard organization of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a carrier in a non-licensed frequency band uses a physical layer technique conforming to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. In order to ensure a device based on the LAA and another device operating in the non-licensed frequency band (such as a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) device) to occupy a channel in the non-licensed frequency band equally and in order to avoid interference between devices operating in the non-licensed frequency band, a mechanism called Listen Before Talk (LBT) similar to a carrier sense technique in the WiFi is introduced to a physical layer of the LAA regarding a carrier in the non-licensed frequency band. In case that a base station or a User Equipment (UE) senses that a channel in the non-licensed frequency band is occupied, i.e. in case that the LBT fails, the base station or the UE stops transmitting a signal. In case that the base station or the UE senses that the channel is clear, i.e., in case that the LBT succeeds, the base station or the UE transmits a signal. A carrier in the non-licensed frequency band cannot operate independently in the UE operating in the non-licensed frequency band. A carrier aggregation technique has to be used to aggregate the carrier in the non-licensed frequency band and a carrier in a licensed frequency band. The carrier in the licensed frequency band may function as a Primary Cell (PCell) serving the UE, and the carrier in the non-licensed frequency band may function as a Secondary Cell (SCell) serving the UE.
MulteFire (MF) is also a radio access technique based on the LTE and using the non-licensed frequency band. Different from the LAA, the technique, MulteFire, may operate in the non-licensed frequency band independently without an aid of the licensed frequency band. The mechanism called the LBT is also introduced to a physical layer of the MulteFire so as to prevent interference among devices.
Carriers in the non-licensed frequency band in the technique LAA of the 3GPP and the technique MF use 38 frequency bins between 5150 MHz and 5929 MHz as center frequency bins. In the LTE, a channel in each usable operating frequency band (Band) is identified by an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN). A value range of the EARFCN is 0-262143. A relation between the EARFCN and center frequency bins of a channel in the operating frequency band (Band) is as follow:FDL=FDL_low+0.1(NDL−NOffs-DL)FUL=FUL_low+0.1(NUL−NOffs-UL)
wherein, FDL_low is a lowest frequency value in a downlink operating frequency band. FDL is a center frequency bin of a channel in the downlink operating frequency band, NDL is a downlink EARFCN, NOffs-DL is an EARFCN offset in the downlink operating frequency band, FUL-low is a lowest frequency value in a uplink operating frequency band, FUL is a center frequency bin of a channel in a uplink operating frequency band, NUL is a uplink EARFCN, and Noffs-UL is an EARFCN offset in the uplink operating frequency band.
68 operating frequency bands are included in the LTE. As shown in a table below, the carriers in the non-licensed frequency band in the technique LAA of the 3GPP and the technique MF use an operating frequency band. Band 46, in a frequency range from 5150 MHz to 5929 MHz, i.e., the carriers in the LAA and the MFC use frequency bins in Band 46 in the non-licensed frequency band.
E-UTRADownlinkUplinkOperatingFDL—lowFUL—lowBand(MHz)NOffs-DLRange of NDL(MHz)NOffs-ULRange of NUL 121100 0-59919201800018000-18599 21930600 600-119918501860018600-19199 3180512001200-194917101920019200-19949 4211019501950-239917101995019950-20399 586924002400-26498242040020400-20649 687526502650-27498302065020650-20749 7262027502750-344925002075020750-21449 892534503450-37998802145021450-21799 91844.938003800-41491749.92180021800-2214910211041504150-474917102215022150-22749111475.947504750-49491427.92275022750-229491272950105010-51796992301023010-231791374651805180-52797772318023180-232791475852805280-53797882328023280-23379. . .1773457305730-58497042373023730-238491886058505850-59998152385023850-239991987560006000-61498302400024000-241492079161506150-64498322415024150-24449211495.964506450-65991447.92445024450-2459922351066006600-739934102460024600-2539923218075007500-769920002550025500-2569924152577007700-80391626.52570025700-2603925193080408040-868918502604026040-266892685986908690-90398142669026690-270392785290409040-92098072704027040-272092875892109210-96597032721027210-2765929271796609660-9769N/A30235097709770-986923052766027660-2775931462.598709870-9919452.52776027760-2780932214529920 9920-10359N/A3319003600036000-3619919003600036000-361993420103620036200-3634920103620036200-363493518503635036350-3694918503635036350-369493619303695036950-3754919303695036950-375493719103755037550-3774919103755037550-377493825703775037750-3824925703775037750-382493918803825038250-3864918803825038250-386494023003865038650-3964923003865038650-396494124963965039650-4158924963965039650-415894234004159041590-4358934004159041590-435894336004359043590-4558936004359043590-45589447034559045590-465897034559045590-465894514474659046590-4678914474659046590-4678946451504679046790-5453951504679046790-54539. . .64Reserved6521106553665536-664351920131072131072-13197166521106643666436-673351710131972131972-1326716727386733667336-67535N/A687536753667536-67835698132672132672-132971
In the LAA of the LTE, in order to add or remove a SCell of the LAA serving the UE, a base station in the LTE indicates, through measurement configuration in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message, the UE to measure a signal quality of a neighboring cell of the LAA, and determines whether the SCell of the LAA serving the UE is to be added or removed according to the signal quality reported by the UE after the UE measured the signal quality of a channel of the LAA. For example, in case that the signal quality of the neighboring cell of the LAA is at least higher than a signal quality of a current serving cell by a predetermined threshold, the base station adds the neighboring cell of the LAA as the SCell serving the UE.
A relevant 3GPP standard supports the UE to hand over from a LTE-based network to another network based on other radio access technologies (RAT), such as a GSM/EDGE radio access network (GERAN), a UMTS radio access network (UTRAN), a CDMA2000 network, a UMTS terrestrial radio access (UTRA) network, and a wireless area network (WLAN). In order to enable the UE to hand over from the LTE-based network to another network based on other RATs, the base station in the LTE indicates, through the measurement configuration in the RRC signaling message, the UE to perform measurement to a neighboring cell, and determines whether the UE should hand over to neighboring cells based on the other RATs, according to the signal quality reported by the UE after the UE performs the measurement to a channel in the GERAN, the UTRAN, the CDMA2000, the UTRA or the WLAN.
The base station notifies, through a measurement object in the measurement configuration in the RRC message, the UE to measure a channel quality of a cell based on other RATs or other frequency bands at center frequency bins (i.e. EARFCN) of the other RATs or the other frequency bands. At present, the base station uses a measurement object (MeasObjectEURA) carrying the EARFCN in the Band 46 to indicate the UE to measure the channel quality of the neighboring cell of the LAA at frequency bins corresponding to the EARFCN. However, after the MulteFire (MF) technique is introduced, if a handover process from the LTE-based network to a MF-based network is to be supported, the UE needs to be instructed to measure a channel quality of a neighboring cell of the MF. Since both the MF and the LAA use channel frequency bins in the Band 46 in the non-licensed frequency band, the measurement object (MeasObjectEUTRA) including the EARFCN in the Band 46 cannot indicate the measurement object is directed to measurement to the neighboring cell of the LAA or measurement to the neighboring cell of the MF. How to make the base station be capable of distinguish the measurement object instructed for the LAA from the measurement object instructed for MF is a problem to be solved.